2013-04-01 – Considering what we see in the media every day, April Fools’ Day has lost its kick. The fools have 365 days, not just one. It’s time to reclaim at least one day a year for the truth-tellers.

So I am proposing a new holiday called Diogenes Day after the ancient Greek who is known for his search for an honest man. Ironically, Diogenes began his life as a banker, but got fed up, embarking on a career as a philosopher and the world’s first cynic.

Diogenes had an odd attraction to living life as a dog. (Regulars to this blog might remember my post about a fellow I saw acting like a dog in our neighborhood park. Could he have been a modern Diogenes?)

Diogenes mocked Plato’s definition of man as a “featherless biped” by bringing a plucked chicken to Plato’s Academy.

The ideal time for Diogenes Day is a day that is as far from April Fools’ Day as is reasonably possible. I propose October 1. October seems to be the season for major financial collapses (1929 and 2008, for example) which totally fits the Diogenes story. It is close to the time of the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) when we ask forgiveness for our sins. And . . . it might be nice to have a day devoted to truth around October 1 of an election year.

I really mean this.

This is not an April Fools’ joke.

So get ready. Diogenes Day. October 1, 2013. You have six months to prepare.

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[UPDATE: Go to my Diogenes Day page to see other DD posts.]

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